Extruded plastic baseboard molding strips, are in current vogue particularly adaptable to mounting to a vertical building wall or a vertical partition wall of the same adjacent its intersection with the floor.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,408,250 issued to D. W. Finefrock, Oct. 29, 1968, is exemplary of such extruded plastic molding strips. U.S. Pat. No. 3,408,250, notes the conventionality of applying such elastomeric baseboard molding strip to a wall after first laying a length of a molding strip onto the floor and brushing a suitable paste or adhesive, such as linoleum paste, on the entire wall contacting surface of the molding strip and then pressing the elastomeric molding strip against the flat surface of the vertical wall to receive the same.
The problem in such application is the inability to avoid smearing and bleeding of the paste onto exposed surfaces of the wall, floor and the molding strip itself. As a result, substantial time and labor are required in wiping up excess paste while it is still wet.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,408,250, overcomes that problem by using pressure sensitive adhesive on the rear, wall contacting surface of the baseboard molding strip, which pressure sensitive adhesive may cover the entire rear, wall contacting surface of the molding strip or at selected areas such as the top and bottom edge areas of the molding strip. The extruded elastomeric material strip in U.S. Pat. No. 3,408,250, includes a wall contacting portion and an integral floor engaging foot portion which extends outwardly at an obtuse angle from the wall contacting portion at the bottom edge of the extruded elastomeric material strip. The rear, wall engaging surface is provided with a multiplicity of a horizontally extending, vertically spaced ribs which provide a multiplicity of pressure points thereby assuring an effective seal between the rear surface of the strip and the vertical wall to which it is attached. The ribs project outwardly of the extruded strip rear surface. The opposite, front surface of the extruded strip wall contacting portion, is flat and smooth.
While, the utilization of a pressure sensitive adhesive preapplied to the extruded baseboard molding strip permits pressure application against the vertical wall to which the baseboard molding strip is attached and which may initially adhere satisfactorily, depending upon the climate, either the adhesive itself, the extrusion substrate material or both may be adversely affected, destroying the adhesion between the extruded strip and the building wall and, under extreme conditions, a deterioration or partial destruction of the substrate material itself.
Further, the plain, smooth, flat front surface of the extruded elastomeric baseboard molding strip, is itself rather unappealing. Importantly, surface irregularities on the building vertical wall are telegraphed through the extruded membrane giving a lumpy look to the flat front, vertical surface of that molding strip.
It is therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved, extruded plastic baseboard molding strip characterized by a front surface with a unique, linear visual effect which is completely different from existing baseboard molding strip products, using an extruded plastic substrate material which is highly stable climatically, easy to cut and work with, is cost effective, has a front surface outer skin which is scuff and mar resistant and highly colorable, in which a surface layer at the rear of the strip is contoured to facilitate the application of adhesive to that surface and which allows excess adhesive to be readily removed therefrom and which prevents the telegraphing of surface discontinuities of the vertical wall to which the strip is attached through the extruded membrane.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an extruded plastic baseboard molding strip in which the extruded plastic material provides a linear visual appearance to the front surface of the extruded strip of contrasting colors, which is enhanced in terms of scuff resistance and which is of lighter density from that of a second surface layer proximate to the rear surface of the extruded plastic strip, and which second, rear surface layer facilitates maintenance of the adhesive seal between the rear surface of the extruded plastic baseboard molding strip, and the front surface of the vertical building wall.